CRIME WATCH FOLLOWUPS: Charges filed in SWAT-standoff, stolen-car-ramming cases

| Crime | West Seattle news

Charges are now filed in two West Seattle cases on which we’ve reported in the past week:

(WSB photo, last Friday)

SWAT STANDOFF CASE: Last Friday, we reported on an 8-hour standoff in the 9400 block of 36th SW between SWAT officers and a man accused of pointing weapons at neighbors and then officers. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 69-year-old David D. Brown with one count of felony harassment. From the charging documents:

The defendant was reported by witnesses to have been wandering the neighborhood with what appeared to be a rifle, yelling for his neighbors to come outside and confront him. He then went inside and obtained what appeared to be a handgun. Upon the arrival of law enforcement, the defendant proceeded to point the perceived handgun at three Seattle Police Officers while yelling obscenities. The defendant proceeded to re-enter his yard and it took additional SWAT officers several hours to detain the defendant. During this time the defendant fired a pellet rifle at the officers and their vehicles and swung a hammer and part of a metal cane at them.

The documents note that “At least 48 SPD personnel ultimately ended up responding to this call.” Also noted: Brown has no criminal history, and the two “guns” found in the residence turned out to be a Daisy BB rifle and “what appeared to be a vintage double-barrel handgun that was brown and black in color (with) writing on its top that read something to the effect of
replicas by parris’ (made of) wood and what appeared to be metal.” Brown’s bail was set at $100,000, and he remains in jail tonight.

STOLEN-CAR-RAMMING CASE: On Saturday, police arrested a man they say stole a delivery driver’s car on Capitol Hill and drove it to southeast West Seattle, ramming it into the cars of officers who tried to stop him, as well as damaging a gas-station/mini-mart building in the 7800 block of Detroit SW. The King County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office has charged 22-year-old Benjamin I. Triplett with motor-vehicle theft, attempting to elude police, second-degree malicious mischief, and violating a domestic-violence court order. The order resulted from his recent conviction for assaulting the woman found in the car with him at the time of Saturday’s incident. Triplett also remains in jail, bail set at $35,000.

Jort October 6, 2021 (11:21 pm)

Forty-eight (48) SPD officers to arrest a 69-year-old man with a BB gun. Totally cool and normal. Super cool use of limited resources.

Terry October 7, 2021 (9:54 am)

I didn’t realize we had 48 cops left…
Mellow Kitty October 7, 2021 (11:12 am)

The officers had NO idea what they were facing until they got into the house. SPD is not psychic, they work with the information they have. Neighbors reported the guy had a rifle and a hand gun and was threatening people. Shots were fired – pellet guns can be deadly btw – but again, officers didn’t know the amount or type(s) of the weapons this guy had behind closed doors. It could have been a lot worse. I’m thankful for SPD. They have a crap job already and don’t need people like you being Monday morning quarterbacks.
ACG October 7, 2021 (11:29 am)

Jeez. Take a break, Jort. The neighbors reported a rifle and a handgun. And that the guy was confrontational. That’s what the officers had to go off of until they could get close enough to the weapons in question. I’m thankful they were there to protect the kids and families in the neighborhood.
- Frog October 7, 2021 (8:37 pm)
  
  Not to mention, this was a stand-off of more than 8 hours, so perhaps there was a shift change involved, and not 48 officers there at the same time.
Dr. No October 7, 2021 (12:39 pm)

Alright Jort, invite this dude to move in next door to you. Have him flash his guns and threaten, you can call the cops, and you tell me if enough cops show up. Deal?
wscommuter October 7, 2021 (4:22 pm)

What a profoundly ignorant comment that is plainly rooted in contempt for police and an equally ignorant understanding of the dangers they face. The anti-car ranting from this poster is silly and easily ignored. But the depth of stupidity in this comment about keeping police officers and the public safe is genuinely offensive.

Brian October 7, 2021 (8:51 am)

Totally cool and normal that the old dude in crisis with a BB gun gets $100k bail and the dude who actually could have murdered someone with a stolen vehicle gets $30k bail.

Pedro October 7, 2021 (9:19 am)

Jort, while in the abstract it appears excessive to us armchair experts, we need to bear in mind: (a) the police had no way of knowing they were not real guns (b) the police are significantly limited in the force they can use to respond; and (c) the numbers were likely the product of a call for all available officers to ensure a robust and sufficient response. Moreover, if there’s a guy running around with a gun in my neighborhood, I’m okay with 48 officers responding.

Scottibell October 7, 2021 (9:30 am)

Not only that, he also assaulted the passenger with him. How absolutely ridiculous.

Ant October 7, 2021 (9:33 am)

…. just a thought but maybe the 48 officers responding didn’t know it was a BB gun, you know because they aren’t fortune tellers.

HarborIslandworker October 7, 2021 (1:40 pm)

So let me get this right…..a person with a obvious mental illness gets charges….. yet 2 people can Have a wild wild West show down at the Chelan five way intersection and nothing happens …. And since I’m on that subject WSB did you ever find out if those two drivers had authorization to use the Low Bridge.. just curious

Get Over Yourself October 7, 2021 (3:56 pm)

Maybe you should have ridden your bike over there real fast and taken him down man-to-man before the police got there Jort.

1994 October 7, 2021 (10:20 pm)

Good comment get over yourself. I was thinking Jort should try being a bike cop for a day, or even a cop that has a CAR so they can respond super fast to reports of trouble.

Jort October 7, 2021 (5:32 pm)

This police department acts like it can barely keep three officers on duty at any given moment, with constant, endless sob stories about how Kshama Sawant keeps them from doing a single thing in this city. Yet somehow they muster 48 cops to show up to an elderly old man waving a BB gun around in the air like an idiot. Interesting. Super cool and very bigly use of limited resources. If the defense of this is, “what if something bad happened,” we can play the “what if” game forever, perhaps starting with the dozens of actual humans who are actually killed by actual dangerous drivers in this city, and trying to prevent that.

Wseattleite October 7, 2021 (6:42 pm)

Kudos should be handed out in spades to the Police response to the man reported wielding a gun in a neighborhood whilst attempting to provoke others around him into confrontation. They safely de-escalated the situation while protecting both the neighbors and the person charged with a crime. The mere fact that the charged individual shot firearms at police officers could have easily led to his death. The police showed great control and respect for all involved, I don’t care what anyone thinks of the police, this response should not be viewed with disdain. It was a great response and outcome. If it took 48 police officers to facilitate that, I am more than fine with that.

anonyme October 8, 2021 (6:22 am)

I actually agree with Jort on this one. Unless there was a nuclear bomb in the house, 48 officers do seem excessive. SPD continually reports how short-staffed they are, and claim to have as few as 9 officers per shift on the peninsula. I’m pro-police (within reason) and anti-defund, but the math doesn’t add up.

Jay October 8, 2021 (11:47 am)

Yeah, the people commenting in support of this don’t realize how many officers 48 is. That’s a huge crowd and all but 5-10 are going to have nothing to do. This may have been a $25k to $40k operation that tied up officers from all over town and certainly pulled in off-duty officers for overtime. It’s not unreasonable to ask for oversight and transparency in situations like this, especially from a department notorious for overtime fraud.

Sorry, comment time is over.